


Brushies

by Vargras



Category: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, also pretty much did this out of spite, but hey I had fun writing it!, implied ot4 of Rex/Pyra/Mythra/Nia, lots of fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-26 19:40:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17752220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vargras/pseuds/Vargras
Summary: A bedtime ritual leads to some talks and bonding time.





	Brushies

**Author's Note:**

> This was almost purely written out of spite, because of ONE comment I got over on the Xenoblade subreddit. 
> 
> If you happen to be the guy in question:  
> I get the intent. You were trying to pay me a compliment, but it absolutely came across as you just being rude, telling me that you were thankful I hadn't "ruined" another one of my fics with a "non-canon ship" by getting Nia involved. In that singular moment, I was determined that I would write something extremely soft and fluffy with Rex and Nia, simply to spite you, and I was going to make it as good as I could manage. And the kicker? She's ALSO dating Pyra and Mythra, it's not just "Rex dates everyone".
> 
> Petty? Sure. Worth it? Absolutely.

It had been one month since the collapse of the World Tree.

It had been one week since Rex had asked her to join him in Fonsett.

It had been less than an hour since she had climbed out of the bath and readied herself for bed.

She had to admit, this entire situation had felt rather… bizarre, in a way. Far beyond what she could have ever imagined happening. She had prepared herself to be let down within the Spirit Crucible, and she hadn’t been terribly surprised at all when he had indeed chosen Pyra and Mythra over herself. But… to be asked to join him? To join _them_ , and live with them under one roof within sleepy little Fonsett? She had scarcely believed it at first, even thought it to be some horrid manner of a joke, but the looks Pyra and Mythra both gave her had shown that the invitation was genuine — they truly enjoyed her company and wished to be around her more often. _Rex_ wished to be around her more often.

Which... had, of course, brought with it _quite_ the realization of the fact that he had, indeed, loved her as she loved him. Even the Aegises had been surprisingly affectionate with her, and for perhaps the first time in her life thus far, she had felt well and truly loved. _Welcomed_ , even. The people of Fonsett did not judge her for what she was, but instead relished her mere presence, particularly with her potent healing capabilities. It seemed even the local children enjoyed having her around, though that… might have been more to do with Dromarch than herself.

So, to leave Torigoth behind and come to a place such as this, where she could show her true self at any and all times? It felt _liberating_ , in comparison.

Though… perhaps ‘liberating’ wasn’t the right word to use, given that she was currently forced to sit still while her boyfriend brushed out the rather generous lengths of her hair. She could feel her ears twitch a bit as the hairbrush passed between them, and she already knew he was likely going to be at this for a _while_. “Rex, you _do_ know you don’t have to do this, yeah?”

“Mm, ish fine.” One of the red hair ties dropped out of his mouth and into his lap — it wasn’t as if he’d need them for a while. “Kinda relaxing to do this, really.”

“You’re gonna be at this for almost an hour, at this rate. I really ought to do this when I've got the shorter hair in my, erm... 'normal' form.”

“It’s fine.”

“ _Rex._ ”

He faintly laughed, merely continuing his steady motions. “Nia, I’ve _told_ you before, I’m alright with doing stuff like this. Besides, it’s just more time we can spend together.”

The Gormotti huffed in response, folding her arms. “You’re a nutcase, honestly. _Willingly_ brushing out _this_ much hair? I could _never_ get Dromarch to agree to helping me do this.”

“Maybe you weren’t asking nicely enough? How would he even hold the brush, anyways?”

“Tch, you’re lucky we’re dating, or I’d be half-tempted to bash you upside the head for that one.”

Another pass of the brush as he worked out a knot. “Too bad I know you well enough to know you’d never do anything of the sort.”

“Yeah, well…” She knew well enough that he had her dead to rights on that one, but… it was still fun to toy with him a bit. “First time for everything, Rex.”

“Uh huh.”

“Oi! _I mean it._ ”

He hummed a bit in amusement. “...uh huh.”

Nia just as quickly cut her losses, giving him a faint growl of irritation—or was it bemusement?—as she resigned herself to simply sitting still while he groomed her. Even for as long as she had known him at this point, and as _well_ as she often thought she knew him, there were moments in which she simply couldn’t begin to _fathom_ what was going through his head. His actions, his motivations, his thoughts and feelings — Rex was the very definition of ‘selflessness’, perhaps to a fault. It was, admittedly, an attractive trait for one to have, especially to someone such as herself, who had been through entirely _too_ much in life thus far, but… “Say, Rex. I’ve got a question for ya.”

“Shoot.”

She felt the brush pass down another length of hair, causing her to sigh a bit before continuing. “Why are you like this?”

There was a tinge of hesitation in his voice. “...What do you mean?”

“Your… personality, I suppose.” A turn of the head, her ears idly twitching as she glanced over her shoulder at him. “The… generosity, the selflessness, how much you care about others… there’s gotta be a reason for it, right? I mean, it’s almost _unnatural_ , how nice you are to everyone else. You’re like this… weird ball of positivity and goodness. So I guess I just… figured there must’ve been something behind it, you know?”

“Mm.” Rex briefly paused in the midst of what he was doing, continuing only after he seemingly collected his thoughts. “You never got to meet my parents, did you? I know I took Pyra to meet them, but I don’t think anyone else really ever went, did they? That, and… I don’t know what you might have heard from the others.”

“Nothing at all, really. If Pyra met them, she sure kept quiet about it. Guessing it must’ve been personal to her or something. What, they live somewhere else or something? You and them estranged?”

“No no, it’s uh… it’s not like that, Nia. They’re, um… not really around anymore. They both passed away when I was still pretty young, so—”

“Oh.” Her ears had already flattened somewhat, her tone markedly quieter compared to before. “...sorry to hear that. I… probably shouldn’t have said anything. Just went and killed the mood.”

He shook his head, though it wasn’t as if she would’ve seen him do so. “It’s fine. Not like you knew or anything, and… I guess you probably _still_ don’t know very much about me, do you? I mean, I got your little story in the Spirit Crucible, but I’m probably still a bit of a mystery to you.”

“...Something like that.”

“Well, let’s see.” He certainly hadn’t been tripped up in the slightest by her earlier question, and had simply continued to tend to her hair the entire time. He was getting close to finishing up one half — at the very least, progress was being made. “Auntie Corinne probably gave Pyra the same story. I washed up here with my mum when I was maybe two years old. She didn’t make it very far beyond the village gates, just… asked someone to take good care of me, and then passed away. They found my dad on a shoreline a few peds away, already gone. Both got buried in the little cemetery at the top of the hill, if you’d ever like to meet them.”

She slowly nodded, not wanting to disturb his work. “...I think I’d like that.”

“Could always go tomorrow or something. Take lunch with us up there… it’s a lovely view of the sea when you get right by the cliff, and— sorry, getting off topic.” Gently holding the ends of her hair in his hand, he pushed forward. “Auntie Corinne raised me as one of her own after that. She was a widow, didn’t have any kids of her own, so having me around to keep her company probably helped her out a lot. Ended up basically opening an orphanage after taking me in, raised a whole bunch of kids alongside me. I was pretty much the oldest, so… someone had to be the role model, I suppose. Then I think I went off to Argentum when I was about 12 or 13?”

Nia balked a bit upon hearing that. “You _think_ you were only 12 or 13 when you went off to become a salvager? Why even go off when you were that young?”

“I had to.”

“You what?” She turned around fast enough that she very nearly ripped the hair brush right out of his grasp. “What do you _mean_ you ‘had to’?”

“Well, raising that many kids on your own is expensive, and even though the rest of the village was willing to help her out… things add up. It’s an island, after all. The farm land’s not the best, so a lot of times, we gotta get stuff shipped in, and… it was starting to drag on Auntie Corinne pretty hard. So, I told her I’d go off and make sure she wouldn’t have to worry about that anymore.” If one listened carefully, they could very likely hear him sigh deeply. “Of course she worried _anyways_ , but… she took good care of me, and I wanted to make sure she wouldn’t have a hard life just because of me.”

“So you went off and worked, sending money back to Corinne?”

“Bingo.”

Things were starting to make a bit more sense now, but she felt as if she was still missing part of the picture. “Guess that explains the generous bit. Awfully noble of ya, going off at that age and just… working for probably not a whole lot of coin, and sending almost all of it to somewhere else. Was it ‘cause you felt like you had to, or ‘cause you wanted to?”

“Hrm.” There was a pause, the silence continually increasing in length as he simply sat there and pondered the question, and even the brush had stopped mid-stroke. “I… I’m not sure, honestly.”

“You just sort of… did it, then? Not much thinking involved?”

Rex huffed, blowing a few strands of her hair about as he resumed the task at hand. “I just went with my gut, is all. It felt like the right thing to do.”

“Mm, sure sounds like you, alright.” From the tone of his voice just now, though, she could tell that this possibly hadn’t been the best topic of conversation after all. “I, um… appreciate you doing this, by the way. Not just the brushing, but also telling me about yourself like this. There’s… a bit I still don’t know about you, and… I’d like to know more, if that’s alright with you. Doesn’t have to be now, of course.”

“Sure thing, Nia.” He had already shifted a bit as he began to work on the other half of her hair, scooting a bit closer to her in the process. “...you _do_ deserve to know, after all. What with what’s going on now and everything else.”

“Rex, I _just_ said it didn’t have to be now, you dolt.”

“Not really anything else to talk about right now, is there? Pyra and Mythra are already asleep, and… I don’t really _mind_ talking about myself like this. It’s just… something I’ve never really thought about a lot.”

 _Ah, so_ that’s _it._ He had certainly had a bit of a rough past, not wholly unlike herself, both from what she had been told as well as what she had heard elsewhere. And, also not unlike herself, one never really had to deal with their past much if they simply never thought about it in the first place. A defense mechanism, then — what had happened had fallen under his ‘old life’, the one that no longer mattered. Thus, there was no point in dwelling on it, thinking on it, or talking about it. An unhealthy habit, to be sure, but one she was _quite_ familiar with herself.

“...sometimes I think about what Addam said to me, in the Spirit Crucible.”

Snapped out of her own thoughts, she tossed a quick glance over her shoulder. “Yeah? What’d he tell ya?”

“Well, he called me ‘greedy’. Said that there was a limit to what I could do, and that I couldn’t protect everyone, no matter how much I tried. And I mean… he’s right. I’m only one person.”

“You’ve never been the sort to let that stop ya, though.”

“Maybe not, but… I just wanted to save everyone, is all. Me helping Pyra and Mythra get to Elysium wasn’t _just_ because they asked me to, but also because… if Elysium was _real_ , then there’d be no reason for anyone to fight again, right? All that land, and all of those resources.” He softly hummed as he brushed through a few more knots. “I’m sure you’d still have some folks that fought, but nothing on the scale of a _war_ or anything. And… wanting to save the entire _world_ is on a whole ‘nother scale from just wanting to save two girls.”

“So did you…?”

“Give up on it?” A soft sigh from him, yet still enough that she could feel his breath on her neck. “I guess you could say that. Learning that it’s pretty much impossible to protect everyone and everything was… hard to swallow, for sure. But I guess doing that just made me even _more_ determined to help those I cared about the most.”

She lowered her head somewhat, her voice softer. “...that so?”

“Yeah. The goal never changed, but I guess I had to just… lower my expectations to something a little more reasonable.” Another sigh, as he gently worked through the locks of her hair with his hands. “Looking back on it now, it sounds kinda naive, almost. Thinking that just because I was the Driver of the Aegis, I could solve all of the world’s problems or something. I just wanted to make sure no one would ever have to go through what I did again, and that… I dunno, there’d be less hurt in the world or something. Sounds... kinda stupid when I just say it out loud.”

Her hands clenched into fists, her brow furrowing somewhat. “That’s just it, though. It’s… it’s _not_ stupid. It’s that same kind of blind optimism and naivety that got all of us following you in the first place. Because underneath all of that was just… _hope_. You were _so_ willing to stake everything on what the rest of us thought was just a fairy tale, all ‘cause you just… had hope for a better future, and… the rest of us didn’t.”

“ _Nia_ …”

Oh, there was that lightly scolding tone of his again. He didn’t bring it out _terribly_ often, but really only when he thought she was being overly rough on herself — it came from good intentions, that much she knew, _and_ it wasn’t used solely on her either. “I mean it, Rex. Every bit of it. You’re just a… _really_ good person, and I don’t think any of us would be where we are today if it weren’t for you. You’ve done some pretty incredible things, after all.”

“I had some pretty incredible friends helping me. Not like I was alone or anything.” Nearing the end of his task, he pressed onward towards the home stretch, brushing out the very ends of her hair. “Things wouldn’t have ended as well as they did for everyone if you hadn’t been there with us. Just think what would’ve happened if you _had_ left in Gormott like you planned.”

“Och, Architect, _don’t_ remind me.”

For possibly only the second time that night, he laughed. “Too late.”

“Damn it, Rex.” She’d be lying if she _hadn’t_ thought about all the countless ‘what if’s. What if she had never helped him on that ancient ship? What if she had never bought time for him and Pyra to escape? What if they never came back for her, what if she truly _had_ left in Gormott, what if she had never revealed her true self to him… so many possible paths she and Dromarch could’ve gone down. “Things probably would’ve been a right proper mess, wouldn’t they?”

“I mean… probably would’ve lost to Mòrag in Gormott. Niall would’ve died. _I_ would’ve definitely died. And of course, either Amalthus or Malos probably would’ve just wrecked everything.”  

“I think I’d consider that ‘a right proper mess’ then, don’t you?”

“Sounds about right.” He cracked his knuckles and wrists as he tossed the brush aside, quickly throwing his arms in the air to stretch his back and shoulders a bit. “...there, finally done!”

She ran her own hands through her hair to inspect his work, nodding in agreement as she felt her fingers effortlessly pass between the strands. “I suppose it’ll do… you forgot the hair ties, though.”

Rex had already fallen onto his back, splaying out upon the couch and taking up what little remaining room was available. “We’re sleeping soon, you would’ve just taken them out anyways.”

“Not the point, you slouch.”

“Hey, who you calling ‘slouch’? I just brushed your hair for you!”

“I recall _someone_ saying they didn’t mind doing it!” Turning about to face him, the Gormotti grinned and pounced upon him as lightly as she could manage. “Though I _guess_ I’ll let it slide, just this once. Special boyfriend privileges and all.”

He faintly laughed, bringing his hands up to rest in the small of her back as she found a place atop his chest. “Good, ‘cause I was gonna play that card if you weren’t gonna drop it.”

“Oi, watch it, you. You’re lucky I’m in such a good mood right now.”

His voice took on a teasing tone. “Or else…?”

“Or else I’d… I dunno, nibble on you in your sleep or something. I’d find some way to annoy ya.” Dropping her head to his chest, she gently dragged a nail against his skin, ever mindful of not pushing _too_ hard lest she draw blood. “Bloody hell, Rex, you are _such_ a tease when you wanna be. You get that from Mythra or something?”

“Hard to say, really. Might be from Pyra, for all I know.”

“True, she sure knows how to push _your_ buttons when she feels like it.” Mention of the Aegises brought up another topic she had been meaning to discuss with him though, and she craned her neck to look at him as she spoke. “Though, that’s got me thinking... Rex? About this whole… ‘arrangement’, with you, me, Pyra, and Mythra…”

He blinked. “What about it?”

“...are you _really_ okay with it? I mean, it’s… not exactly ‘normal’ in the first place, for someone to be dating _multiple_ people at the same time, let alone multiple _Blades_. And especially if two of them are Aegises and one’s a... Flesh Eater.” She huffed a bit, one of her hands gripping his shirt. “It’s not just that you’re romantically involved with Pyra, Mythra, _and_ me. You have to remember that… in a way, I’m _also_ dating Pyra and Mythra too, _and_ you. There’s a lot going on here, and I just sort of… worry sometimes, that maybe it might be too much.”

“It’s fine, Nia.”

She lifted her head just enough to stare at him, eyes narrowing a bit. “...that’s it? A nonchalant ‘it’s fine’?”

“Of course. I trust you and love you, just like I trust and love Pyra and Mythra. And I know the three of you all feel the same too.” He had already brought a hand up to gently run through her hair, the other remaining firmly upon her back. “I don’t care what anyone else might think. I don’t care if it’s not ‘normal’ to be in a relationship like this. All I care about is showing the three of you how important you are to me, and making sure everyone’s happy. And… if I can manage that, then I’m happy too.”

“Even if that involves—”

Rex had firmly placed a finger upon her lips to silence her. “Yeah, even if that involves a Flesh Eater. Nothing’s gonna change how I feel about any of you, so… quit worrying so much, alright?”

“...No promises, love.”

“Nia, c’mon now.”

“Mm, how about… I sell it to ya.” She had a rather mischievous grin upon her face, tracing circles into his chest with a finger as she eyed him.

His response was to stare a bit. “You’re gonna _sell_ me a promise? Seriously?”

“Take it or leave it, Rex.”

“ _Fine_.” There was a rather loud huff, though it was painfully obvious that he did so just to play along. “What’s your price?”

Her hands slipped to his shoulders, leaning up a bit until she was touching noses with him. “One kiss. Tongue and lip biting optional.”

“Oof, you drive a hard bargain… but I _guess_ I’ve got no choice but to take it.”

She grinned just enough to show her fangs, inching towards him ‘til their lips were tantalizingly close to touching. “Going once… twice…”

And then he pulled her in for a kiss, just as gentle and sweet as she had come to expect from him, though…

“Sold, to the handsome young man on the couch...” A light giggle slipped out of her as she licked her lips, placing her forehead against his. “I _felt_ that, you know. Don’t think you were being sneaky.”

“You said tongue was optional, so…”

“Well, _warn_ me next time, so I can maybe return the favor.”

“I’ll consider it.” He gave her another quick peck on the lips, his eyelids getting heavier and heavier by the second. “Ready for bed? Not like we want to keep Pyra and Mythra waiting too long.”

“Mm, probably not. I know they both get fussy if you’re not there for them to cozy up with.”

“Sure, but Mythra seems to get awfully cuddly with you too. I think she’s got a thing for your ears or something.”

Nia laughed a little bit louder as she rolled off of him and got to her feet, holding out a helping hand. “Explains me waking up in the middle of the night to her nuzzling them.”

“At least you noticed. Though I guess it’s hard not to, eh?” Hopping to his feet, he had already slipped a hand into hers, their fingers intertwining. “She seems to flip so much between me and you.”

“Pyra too, though she’s _definitely_ got a preference for you, love.”

“Hey… since when did you start calling me ‘love’ so much?”

Her ears twitched a bit at the word, and she couldn’t help but grin as she walked with him towards the bedroom. “Just now, when I decided on it. Figured I ought to call you by _something_ other than ‘Rex’, what with us being together and all.”

“Is that just for me, then? Nothing special for Pyra and Mythra?”

“...besides ‘I love you’? Eh, they’ll live. You’re the special one, anyways.”

“Oh, so I’m ‘special’ now? You’re gonna break Dromarch’s heart, you know.”

Nia flashed him another grin, giving his hand a light squeeze as he pushed the bedroom door open and allowed her to enter first. “Pretty sure he’s about as happy as I am that I ended up with you lot.”

Whatever it was that Rex said in response was almost inaudible as the bedroom door shut behind them, and across the hallway, a certain tiger returned to his own slumber, a smile upon his face.


End file.
